Pseudocheilinus hexataenia (Six Line Wrasse) - Sept '05 Fish of the Month

[omard]

Originally Posted by Matt Rogers

Pseudocheilinus hexataenia


Reef Safe: Yes
Attitude:

Max Size: 3"
Diet: Carnivore
Care: Easy

Origin: Fiji, Indo-Pacific

Personal Observations -

What a cool wrasse. I've owned wrasses that were not so.. let's say, nice. The Six-Line on the other hand, is just even keel. So mellow. It doesn't seem to carry a grudge. Mellow does not mean shy; this fish will come up and say hello and swim around the front of the tank. And man is it a cool swimmer! It just glides around the rocks effortlessly looking for something to pick at. But don't worry, it won't touch your corals, it likes pods, worms.. that sort of thing. It doesn't seem to bother my crabs or snails though.

The Six-Line wrasse is an easy feeder. I feed mine formula foods and cyclop-eeze. The food barely hits the water and he is on it grabbing a chunk before my Fox Face can blink an eye.

Compatibility with many other fish, easy feeding and reef safe make this fish a high recommendation and 3reef's first Fish of the Month!

PLEASE SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES WITH THIS FISH!

First fish addition to my tank in couple of years. Got him to help take care of nuisance small snails in aquarium is infested with.

Lucky LFS had one in stock. ($14.00) - seems so little for such a great looking and benificial fish.

Took to tank wonderfully...immediatly checking out holes and crevices looking for something to eat. Must have been hungry in LFS holding pen.

Reading up on him on net - reportedly eats pyrimid snails (clam nemisis), flat worms, bristle worms, and other small snail types...even reported to act like a cleaner wrasse and will pick ick off of other fish (not something I am excited to see - just good to know.)

Very hardy fish, recommended for any aquarim...

Thanks for above info.

OmarD

[BC Mosaic]

I Have 3 Chromis, 2 Clowns, a bi-coloured Blenny and a Neon Dottyback. The last two I added to the tank together and the Blenny likes to think that he's the boss but the Dottyback just ignores him (unless the Blenny gets too much into his face).

So question is:
Can I add a Six-Lined Wrasse to this community and expect harmony - especially between the Wrasse and the Dottyback?
Thanks

[omard]

Originally Posted by BC Mosaic

I Have 3 Chromis, 2 Clowns, a bi-coloured Blenny and a Neon Dottyback. The last two I added to the tank together and the Blenny likes to think that he's the boss but the Dottyback just ignores him (unless the Blenny gets too much into his face).

So question is:
Can I add a Six-Lined Wrasse to this community and expect harmony - especially between the Wrasse and the Dottyback?
Thanks

Should not be problem as adding wrasse last - depending on size of tank of course...

[BC Mosaic]

Thanks Omard,

I have an 80g with 110lbs LR, 1 1/2" substrate and starting to put in some coral frags as well.

[omard]

See Threads:

I Love My Sixline

Sixline Pics

[nunch]

I just added a six line yesterday morning. i was telling u guys about the pair of flames, but the old lady wouldn't go for it, so i compromised.(not really, $250 down to $14.99)I got the short end of the stick on that one. but he's not taking very well. he looked good when acclimating and when i first put him in, but after a few minutes he started getting terrorized by one of the dominoes and haven't seen him since this morning. he was hiding under a rock didn't know if he was still alive so i moved the rock he swam away, now i can't find him. he doesn't even come out to eat. if he lives i'll post pics.

[glblguy]

I bought one over the weekend. Been wanting one for a while. I acclimated him along with the two anthias purchased, and then added them to the tank. All 3 hid right away...pretty normal.

Next morning I wake up, anthias are out...no wrasse. We spend a good hour looking for it, and my 8 year old finds it between some live rock...not really moving much but looks alive.

I get the net, coax him out a bit and GASP he's missing an eye! He died later that day.

Now, at the store, he was hiding pretty good, but I am pretty confident he had both eyes...so something in my tank got him.

Now I'm a little hesitant to get another one...guessing it might have been my flame hawkfish...but not sure. Would a coral banded shrimp maybe get his eye like that???

[nunch]

I doubt it, if anything he'd get the shrimp, i'd imagine. sorry for your loss i lost mine too found him this morning. and it's my second attemp @ a 6-line they've both been small though. my other fish are pretty big. next fish i buy must have some size to it.

[glblguy]

Originally Posted by nunch

next fish i buy must have some size to it.

Same here. The 6-line I got was way smaller. thanks!

[omard]

Know I posted similar elsewhere, but want to add a more lasting memorial for my sixline here on FOTM.

Originally Posted by omard

See Threads:

I Love My Sixline

Sixline Pics

R.I.P.

(2002-2008 )

Sixline Wrasse

Pseudocheilinus hexataenia

Besides its incredible beauty, it is great fun to watch whizzing around tank, playing in heavy water current and "schooling" around with other fish.

It is a fish with wonderful characteristics.

It will eat flatworms, bristle worms, small nuisance snails (esp. those that prey on clams) and is known to act as a "cleaner" to other fish that might be afflicted with some parasite such as Ick.

I often see it carefully inspecting my larger fish, which will hold still for it to do so.

While it does carry a bad rep for being overly aggressive, mine is the most docile, mellow and fish friendly in the tank. The reason being it was the last fish to be added to the population, other then my flame wrasse, which it does not bother at all. It seems to be that they will not tolerate new fish.

He has lots of personality and fun to watch him following around my coral beauty which his best friend.

The only downside that I have heard of, is that it also loves copepods which will put it in competition with other pod eaters, such as mandarins. But my mandarin is a fat little sausage so does not seem to be a problem in my tank.

So for a cheap, colorful and playful addition to a already established fish population, consider adding a sixline wrasse.

It is the perfect reef fish.

I love mine.

Expect we all have different degrees of emotional attachment to creatures living on our created reefs.

I, for one, develop a much closer relationship with each critter, the longer I have it.

There are a number of fish that have been with me since I first got into hobby.

We are extremely close.

I know their habits, they know mine.

Ever notice how they learn feeding times and go into frenzy when you approach tank during regular feeding periods and just kind of wander about and do their thing when you come close during non-feeding periods. (expect this is much more pronounced if you generally feed at same times every day.)

Also ever observe how they will come up to glass to say hello(?) whenever you or family member comes into room or come near glass...but ignore or actually go into hiding when a stranger approaches? (esp. visiting children...they know, they know...) Even when my cats which like to perch on nearby chair and sit for hours watching and dreaming about getting in there with them, the fish used to go into hiding...but now totally ignore or put on shows for.

Losing a long held resident is a traumatic event.

Trip to LFS is best means to remedy sense of loss.

But even same kind of replacement fish is just not the same as lost one.

Its just looks different, habits are not the same and there is very little sense of attachment or emotional bonding for long period to come. Even to point of little regret if for some reason it does not make it for one reason or other, or if does not get along with other fish in tank...except of loss in $$ spent.

Usually I only give it a few days to adjust to other fish and new environment, or out it comes and goes back to LFS if does not. Existing fish have priority

Even while looking the same as lost one, other fish tank know it is a different fish and will generally harass it for a while till accepting new resident...

Enough blabbering...guess I am still in grief period over demise of my sixline.